Local April unemployment rate drops

Hiring by some seasonal businesses — mainly tourism and construction-related firms — helped cut Monroe County’s un­employment rate to 7.3 percent in April, down from 7.7 percent from March and a year ago in April.

About 5,000 workers were collecting unemployment pay in a work force that increased to 69,000 during the month. That was 300 fewer unemployed than in March, when there were only 100 fewer in the work force.

It was the lowest unemployment rate for the county since 7.1 percent unemploy­ment in September and reflected a declin­ing trend in joblessness statewide.

“Regional jobless rates decreased slight­ly throughout Michigan in April, although these seasonal reductions were somewhat below the typical April rate declines,” said Michael Williams, acting director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information & Strategic Initiatives. “However, the major­ity of local areas continued to record over­the- year jobless rate reductions.”

Among the state’s 17 major labor mar­kets, the rate only rose in the Lansing area and was unchanged in Ann Arbor from March to April.

A monthly survey of employers showed that job gains in April were mostly sea­sonal and were led by a 13,000 increase in leisure and hospitality services, with some hiring in construction, trade, trans­portation and utilities, and education and health services. Other job sectors showed little change, state officials said.

The April numbers left Monroe County with the 17th lowest unemployment rate among Michigan’s 83 counties. In March, it had the 16th lowest rate.

Michigan’s overall unemployment rate in April was 8.2 percent while the national rate was 7.5 percent.

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